Five years ago, I put a Yokahama S-Drive on the rear of my 2009 Spyder RS/GS. No issues or problems, and it did wear more evenly than the stock Kenda rear tire, but still wore much faster in the center (approx. 20 psi). and lasted somewhere between 11K-12K miles. Seemed to be a better tire than stock for sure, but I was disappointed that it only lasted about 2K miles more than the OEM rear. Have a Vredestein Quatrac 5 (actually all three) on this bike now and am comfortable with this decision. Rides better and handlles better, and living in Kansas, I would feel better prepared with the 3PMS-rated (3 Peak Mountain Snowflake Rated) Vredestein, especially when the pavement temp drops, or, running on wet pavement, than a warm weather "sports car" tire like the S-Drive or it's successors.
The Vredestein Quatrac 5 and the later Quatrac tires are very well siped to allow for great water removal for safer travel on wet pavement, and have a UTOG tread wear of "400", which is not exactly a hard rubber that goes 50K miles...with no traction, especially on cold or wet pavement.
Everything is a compromise. If I lived in a warm climate, a warm weather tire compound would probably offer the best traction, but living in the midwest, I ride with temperatures ranging for 25F to 100F, so an "all season" tire, especially one that is 3PMSF rated is probably one of MY best compromises.
Yes. I had the S-Drive in stretches of snow and slush, but momentum is your friend. Probably not the best choice for those conditions, especially with the overly agressive traction control of the origininal Spyders...As someone here once said, the traction control on the original Spyders was so intrusive that "they could get stuck on a dog turd on flat pavement". This is sad but so true.
Thanks
Rod